A few more macros

I tend to minimize the size of my macros. First, the longer they are the more milliseconds each use takes. Second, I re-adjust my settings and specs frequently and every time I do I have to update macros along with everything else. So the fewer and shorter they are, the less work involved. All that said, there are some macros I keep all the time. I mentioned some specifics for healing earlier. These are more general and for shadow.

On the general side, I love wand autocast till I’m about level 40. After that, I start working it into rotations, at which time the autocast gets in the way. Autocast means the wand goes off instantly when the cooldown is done which maximizes wand dps. But most wands are slower than 1 second. And due to their nature, they won’t let you do anything till the cooldown is done. Which means there’s up to a full second during which I cannot do ANYTHING. So I use this macro for my wand:

/shoot
/stopcasting

Now I happen to have set my hotbuttons so that my unmodified ‘shoot’ (I use =) does this, and the ctrl version gives me an autoshoot. Notice that I don’t have to tell the system what to shoot — it can and does only use what I’ve equipped.

There is another way, of course, and it’s been mentioned in comments in another thread. But I’m going to explicitly point it out here as well.

You can precede any or all spells with a /stopcasting command and use that macro. It looks like (using Flash Heal as an example):

/stopcasting
/cast Flash Heal

I have it on my “OH CRAP” spells – flash heal being the example here. The spells that, when I need it to go off NOW regardless of what else is happening. I’ll note that if you’re dancing with lag some of your other spells will need it to take advantage of that issue – test for your personal use.

For the third macro, some discussion. I am not good at fast-twitch. And when things get hot and hairy I forget to mash appropriate buttons – like trinkets. Fortunately for me, there’s a workaround. See, for most macro elements if you use something that fails it ends the macro. But “use” doesn’t.

What this means is that if I stack trinket macros (so long as they don’t trigger the GCD), then the fact that one (or both) are on cooldown and so can’t be used will not prevent the actual spell from going off. I put this on my ‘normal lead’ spell – the one that I’m sure I’ll cast when things are busy. In my current shadow spec with the trinkets I’ve got that’s SW:P. When I was Healpriest I often tucked it with my Greater Heal for best effect. (My trinkets are of the “increase healing/damage by XXX for YYY seconds. Shadow I know I’m casting constantly after the SW:P. Healing is going to be irregular – I hope.) The macro goes:

A couple of comments on the preceding. First, note the numbers 13 and 14. These are the slot identification numbers for the character’s trinkets – top and bottom respectively. By using the macro this way I don’t have to type in the EXACT AND COMPLETE NAME of the trinket – not just benefiting my respec habits but also quick-change outfit tools (this for healing, that for shadow, a third for riding…) Second, please notice I put a /stopcasting after every use. Nine times out of ten this isn’t necessary. That one time out of ten is enough to be FRUSTRATING.

Finally, there’s the macro I include just for fun. Well, macros. It’s probably you already know that if you type /emote or /e or /me, you get a chat box with your character’s name already in it, with the color being that of an emote. (Same as you get when you type any emote command, like /violin .) I have some complex messages set up that can be triggered by a click of a macro hotbutton. Such as:

/emote knows that %t is trying very hard to do right, and so offers encouragement for those small, rare successes.
/pat

%t, by the way, is a wildcard that is replaced by the current target’s name. And I am, I admit, a mean man to those who think me a friend.

About…

I've experience with many priests of many races and specs on several servers. The more I play, the more I realize how much I do not yet know. This is a share of some of what I have learned.
My main these days is Zingiber on the Undermine server.